New attitude toward the game lifts Glover to new heights

Lucas Glover comes across as perpetually cool and laid-back, but for years his temperament hampered his golf. As Helen Ross explains, though, a change in his outlook has made him much more successful.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Two years ago, if Lucas Glover had a bogey-double-bogey stretch like he did midway through the third round of the 109th U.S. Open, no way he walks away with that big silver trophy like he did on Monday.

Shoot, the double bogey he made on his first of 72 holes at Bethpage Black on Friday alone might have been enough to do him in. He didn’t slam a club, though. He didn’t get mad at himself, either.  

“I've worked on it and my attitude's better,” Glover said. “Something bad happens, let it go. Walked over to the second tee and said: ‘Hey, it's the U.S. Open. It's going to be a long week.’”

Glover’s new-found emotional equilibrium was well-rewarded, too, with the biggest victory of his career Monday. He gutted out a final-round 73 that left him 4 over and two strokes clear of Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes.

Hitting fairways and greens didn’t hurt, either. In what he called the best ball-striking week of his career, at least through the first three rounds, Glover hit 52 of 72 greens and an all-important 40 of 46 rain-soaked fairways.

Physical ability means nothing, though, if your mind is not in the right place. And Glover knew his wasn’t late last year when he decided to take a break from the game he’s played since his grandfather first put a club in his hands.

So after last fall’s BMW Championship, when Glover knew he had his PGA TOUR card secured and with it a job for 2009, he put his clubs away for six or seven weeks. The only time he touched them was for two previously scheduled corporate outings.

Glover went fishing. He and Jennifer, his wife of five years, took some trips. He spent time in Sea Island, Ga., to relax instead of his making usual visit to the practice range. There were mystery novels to read and his beloved New York Yankees to watch.

“But most of the time I spent with Jennifer,” Glover said. “I wasn’t the nicest guy to be around for a while.”

The time away from the game reminded Glover why he loved it so much, though. He wanted to have fun again not beat himself up over every missed putt or fairway. He wanted to learn to quit dwelling on results and just play.

“It was the best thing career wise I've ever done,” Glover said. “…   I was not playing well enough to keep playing and feel like I could be happy on the golf course.  I was taking it home, and I wasn't myself.
   
“When I finally realized it, I said: ‘That's it. When I get to this number I'm done.’  … But that was important, because when I started practicing again, my expectations were lower and I had something set to work on.  But that was huge.” 

So Glover returned to the PGA TOUR this season refreshed and reinvigorated. He tied for third in just his third start of the season -- at Torrey Pines, which hosted last year’s U.S. Open, no less -- and second at the Quail Hollow Championship.

The transformation was not lost on Glover’s long-time caddy, Dan Cooper.

“The three months leading up to that off time, neither one of us had fun out there -- and we always said we do this for fun,” Cooper said. “He came back (thinking) a bogey’s a bogey, a double’s a double, go on to the next hole and that’s what he’s doing.

“That’s the difference in this year and last year.”

The people closest to Glover turned out abundance at Bethpage Black all week to offer their support. Jennifer, his mom and dad, two of his agents, his instructor Mike Taylor and a couple of cousins from North Carolina were all in his gallery.

Todd Hendley and Billy Johnson, left Boone, N.C., at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, drove all night and arrived 10 minutes before their cousin teed off. They bought their tickets on eBay for $40 each and wore t-shirts shirts that had Glover’s photo on the front and the words: “We got your back” on the other side.

“We told ourselves yesterday that if Lucas was within three shots of the lead, we were coming,” said Johnson, who lives in High Point, N.C., and they got to share the biggest moment of Glover’s career.

One important person who wasn’t there, though, was Dick Harmon, Glover’s long-time teacher, who died several years ago.

The two were extremely close, and Glover lost his way for a while after Harmon passed away. The rest of the Harmon family, all highly regarded instructors as well, tried to fill the void last week with a battery of text messages to him. 
 
Someone asked whether any of Harmon’s teachings particularly resonated with Glover at the U.S. Open. He had to stop to compose himself before he answered, and even then he barely was able to keep from being overcome by emotion.

“I think about him every day,” Glover said, his voice halting. “He always told me I was good enough.”

Maybe now Glover will start believing it, too.